Braffort
The free city of Braffort is the largest urban area and oldest settlement in all of Wahrland, a commercial hub that was formed on the southern shores of Lake Hallevin and the West bank of the Oner River. Its great position at the delta of the Oner in the heartland of Wahrland aided its rise but constructing the Arrendon ensured its prosperity. The mighty fortress at the mouth of the Oner has never failed to take its toll on any craft that uses the river. The city has had a long history, seeing many dark periods resulting in it being built and re-built several times. The cities periods of building has seen the greater use of sturdy Grey-wood Trees that grow extensively in the lower Oner river Valley. Its many towering buildings are a brownish-grey based from the woods use and thus the use of so many use bright paint from the south to make their buildings stand out among the otherwise non-colored structures has become popular in the lantern lit cobbled streets. The crooked walls and twisting alley ways define most of the city’s inner ways as continuous and sporadic construction of buildings see many stacked upon one another to enable greater in-habitation. For this reason, the main mode of commerce transportation is the canals that snake through the city and out into the Hallevin from the northern harbor districts. History Founded in -620 as a trading post turned permanent settlement whose strategic position caught the eye of the hegemonic authorities of Aura. The Auran Exarchs acquired the town by force, then proceeded to expand and enrich the city which served as their seat of power in the region. Braffort remained securely under Auran rule until the Wahridan uprisings of the -440s led to the city trading hands several times until the Volkanid armies under Zynas the Breaker decisively defeated the Wahridan clans and pacified the Oner valley. Around -390 the Wahridan chieftain Yolfrig overran the city and repelled successive Volkae attempts to reclaim their prize in the north. The final and most famous of these conflicts was fought in early spring 382 where a mounted army of Volkae under various warlords marched to reconquer the Oner Valley, they were met on the road by a far smaller Wahrish force that had prepared for the enemies arrival and had several contingents hiding along the hills and trees on the flanks of their primary position. Late in the day the Volkanid force charged directly at the Wahrish pike lines and saw heavy casualties, their flanking attempts saw them as the ones outflanked and soon the majority of the Volkanid riders were enveloped by Wahrish spears and soon after collapsed. The battle tarnished the brutal martial reputation of the Volkae and proved to their leadership that the Wahrish lands to the north were beyond their means to control. The city would go on to prosper as the center for trade going east to west and south to north across Wahrland, the ancient Auran roads that converged on the city making commerce far more efficient for Braffort than its neighbors. The title Prince of Braffort and the Oner valley was created around -340 and the city began a new phase with the construction of the Arrendon that protected the inner city and began the now infamous Brafforter toll. In -295 the Archon Erchen I visits the curious Prince Jurlfred of Braffort during his Wandering in western Wahrland and has several lengthy discourse with the young ruler about Vivar's teachings and the wisdom of the All-Father. Erchen manages to reach the Prince and his court and turn them toward the Vivaran Archonry and finally converting them and much of the cities populace in a well documented ceremony lasting three days in -292. Now known as Prince Jurlfred the Pious, the young ruler is further integrated with the Archonite after marrying one of the 'Glorantine Graces', the entrancing daughters of Julris the Wise of Glorance, who sought to create a network of alliances through marital and religious ties to assist him against the threats of the east. TBC. Districts of Braffort -Gutterdam The Gutterdam district in the South eastern most part of the city encompasses the largest portion of the cities landmass as well as the greatest concentration of winding canals. The area has a great many tall grey tower houses where the cities lower class languish in greater numbers by the day. The area is iconic by its ornate wooden bridges and raised through ways that people can use to quickly traverse high above the filthy vermin infested streets below. -Market Gardens The commercial Market District that made the city famous including Fauber (or 'the Painted') Square with its many brightly colored guild halls and the lavish Torner Theater. The mercantile area has little residential use but is packed with bustling merchants, exotic commodities, and a vibrant atmosphere. The landmark 'Garden-Squares' of Braffort are found here. -Arrendon On an island sitting where the Oner and lake Hallevin meet, the old Arrendon fortress that enforced the Brafforter toll for centuries is the namesake of both the island and the neighborhood sprawled out under the high red brick walls of the citadel. Nicknamed the Bloody Halls for its color as well as the several gruesome instances that occurred within it. As the stronghold was always the redoubt used as the last stand for the several sackings the city had been victim to. The most prevalent of these were the Sackings in both Wahrlander Wars, the Red Harvest by Renault I of Pavalon, and the prolonged Siege of Braffort during the Dohndar Wars. -The Harbors The western portion of the city houses the two primary waterfronts and a split commercial port with one inside the city wall and the other beyond it. Within the city the far more lucrative Hallehaven is where the cities prominent merchants congregate and the most sought after goods are facilitated. The half that spills beyond the walls goes by the name of Westhaven, within its winding muddy streets the cities less than legal trade occurs and is masked behind a busy waterfront dominated by the regions largest fish market. -Unster The eastern central locale of Unster is a smaller, less populated neighborhood concentrated on the hill that gives the district its name. Here is the expansive Brafforter graveyard and the cities Unster Archonry, which sits on the hills crest with its twin towers that are visible for miles around. -Rechten A city within a city, where the nobility created an enclave after the destruction wrought by Pavalonian loyalists during the Red Harvest. The site had been a ruined Exarch Palace from the cities Auran period long ago, only recently were the walls rebuilt and expanded by the frightened surviving nobility and guild masters. The district was sealed off from most of the po pulation and guarded by a small private army of the cities elite known as the Gullners of Rechten. -Dimhook The southwestern expanse of the city that many of the cities poor are located has several names but Dimhook is the most prolific. Known for both receiving less sun from living in the shadow of Unsterberg and the large scale livestock processing industry, whose combination eventually created the name. The unkempt streets of mud throughout the area are usually strewn with the blood and bile of the butchers that line the river Stern and make the tributary run red during the early morning hours. Dimhook has the Stern River flowing through the middle of the quarter, effectively creating a river valley and then merging with the Grand Braff Canal. Braffhof -The city has had a long, volatile, and violent history for a settlement originally created for peaceful trade, worship, and idea exchange. The cities leadership reflects this as it has seen a plethora of different governments, it has been primarily ruled through a council of the city’s most prominent citizens that has taken many names. The most recent of which is called the Stadt Conclave. A few miles west of the city is a grandiose residence made by the Stadtholders of Braffort known as Braffhof. The property has served many purposes and for many years was used by the Asilaunt dynasty of Pavalon as their residence in Wahrland. Owned now by the Conclave of Braffort and is the site of many of their meetings, conventions, and houses official state functions.